Whenever you find
yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and
reflect). ― Mark Twain

A kindly
gesture bestowed by us on an animal arouses prodigies of understanding and
gratitude.
 Sidonie Gabrielle

Choose
your friends carefully. They are a reflection of you. ― Jim George

Never cut a tree down in
the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make
your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be
patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.  Robert H. Schuller

This is my simple religion. There is no need for
temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart
is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.  Dalai Lama

It's never too late - in fiction or in life - to revise.
 Nancy Thayer

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is
someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.  Oprah
Winfrey

Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story.  John Barth

The greatest friend of Truth is time, her greatest enemy is Prejudice, and
her constant companion Humility.  Charles Caleb Colton

The Wise Woman's Stone
A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in
a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the
wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the
precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without
hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the
stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days
later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.
"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I
give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more
precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the
stone."  Author Unknown

Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art and
more.  Vincent Van Gogh

Here's a simple test to see if your mission on earth is finished. If
you're alive, it isn't.  Sir Francis Bacon

Courage doesn't roar. Sometimes its the quiet voice at the end of the day
saying, "I will try again tomorrow ".  Mary Anne Radmacher

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do
good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest person with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest
person with the smallest mind.
Think big anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack if you help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you might get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

Bishop Abel Muzorewa

Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness.  Seneca

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a
listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of
which have the potential to turn a life around.  Leo Buscaglia

The present never ages. Each moment is like a snowflake, unique,
unspoiled, unrepeatable, and can be appreciated in its surprisingness.  Gail Sheehy

Real generosity toward the future consists in giving all to what is
present.  Albert Camus

A single moment of understanding can flood the whole life with meaning. Anonymous
The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a
man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.  Thomas Henry Huxley
We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.  Immanual
Kant
It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for
what we do not do.  Moliere
That best portion of a good man's life; his little, nameless, unremembered
acts of kindness and love.  William Wordsworth

A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life
when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never
sit. D. Elton Trueblood

The seeds of great discoveries are constantly floating around us, but they
only take root in minds well prepared to receive them.  Joseph Henry
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is
noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience,
which is the bitterest.  Confucius

There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all
been gifted with the ability to make a difference and if we can become
aware of that gift, we gain, through the strength of our visions, the
power to shape the future.  Author Unknown

Children Learn
If a child lives with CRITICISM,
He learns to CONDEMN.
If a child lives with HOSTILITY,
He learns to FIGHT.
If a child lives with RIDICULE,
He learns to be SHY.
If a child lives with SHAME,
He learns to feel GUILTY.
If a child lives with TOLERANCE,
He learns to be PATIENT.
If a child lives with ENCOURAGEMENT,
He learns to be CONFIDENT.
If a child lives with PRAISE,
He learns to APPRECIATE.
If a child lives with FAIRNESS,
He learns JUSTICE.
If a child lives with SECURITY,
He learns to have FAITH.
If a child lives with APPROVAL,
He learns to LIKE HIMSELF.
If a child lives with ACCEPTANCE
and FRIENDSHIP.
He learns to LOVE in the world

Friendship Quotes
True friends stab you in the front.  Oscar Wilde
A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing.
it back to you when you have forgotten the words.  Author Unknown
Only your real friends tell you when your face is dirty.  Sicilian Proverb
Silence is the true friend that never betrays.  Confucius
Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow ~ Don't walk behind me, I may
not lead ~ Just walk beside me and be my friend. Thoreau
Friends are born, not made.  Henry Adams
A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.  Ralph Waldo
Emerson
Hold a true friend with both your hands.  Nigerian Proverb
Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human
being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this
light. Albert Schweitzer
A brother is not always a friend, but a friend is always a brother.  Unknown
Never hurt your friends, not even in a joke.  Unknown
One loyal friend is better than ten thousand family members.  Unknown
Hold on to your friend with both hands.  Unknown
Be careful of what you say, friendship can end in one minute because of a
stupid word.  Unknown
Friends are the chocolate chips in the cookie of life.  Unknown
Friends are the angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble
remembering how to fly.  Unknown
Wherever you may be it is your friends who make your world.  Unknown
If all my friends were to jump off a bridge, I would not follow, I would
be at the bottom to catch them when they fall.  Unknown
The death of a friend is equivalent to the loss of a limb.  German
Proverb
The best mirror is an old friend.
A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

People come into your life for a Reason, a Season or a Lifetime. When you
know which one it is for a person, you will know what to do for that
person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need
you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to
provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally,
or spiritually. They may seem like a Godsend, and they are! They are there
for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your
part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to
bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk
away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must
realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is
done. The prayer you sent up has been answered, and now it is time to move
on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come
to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make
you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually
give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only
for a season. LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons: things you must build
upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept
the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all
other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind
but friendship is clairvoyant.

Tenderness and kindness are not signs of
weakness and despair but manifestations of strength and resolution. Khalil Gibran

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as
Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote
poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and
earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job
well.  Martin Luther King, Jr.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
 Aesop

The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.
Henrik Ibsen

The most beautiful thing in the world is freedom of speech.
 Diogenes

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming
of it.  Helen Keller

When we remember that we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life
stands explained.  Mark Twain
Reflections
To dream anything that you want to dream, that is the beauty of the human
mind. To do anything that you want to do, that is the strength of the
human will. To trust yourself to test your limits, that is the courage to
succeed.  Author Unknown

Love is the only flower that grows and blossoms without the aid of the
seasons.  Kahlil Gibran

Kind words are like a string of pearls.
 Chinese Proverb

Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have
a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb
agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by
love. 
Martin Luther King, Jr.

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can
sincerely try to help another without helping himself. 
Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Wise Cherokee
A wise elderly Cherokee man, was teaching his grandchildren about life.
He said to them, "A fight is going on inside of me; it is a terrible
fight, and it is between two wolves.
One wolf is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance,
self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority
and ego.
The other is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility,
kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion
and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person too."
They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his
grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replied. "The one you feed."

Author Unknown

Smile at each other,
smile at your wife, smile at your husband,
smile at your children, smile at each other
-- it doesn't matter who it is --
and that will help you to grow up
in greater love for each other.

Mother Theresa

"If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you
meet; how important you can be to people you may never dream of. There is
something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another
person."  Fred Rogers

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, - I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose,
I shall but thee better after death.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve
the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without
fear.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It is better to do the most trifling thing in the world than to regard
half an hour as a trifle.  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Love and Madness
A long time ago, before the world was created and humans set foot on it
for the first time, and vices floated around and were bored, not knowing
what to do.
One day, all the vices and virtues were gathered together and were more
bored than ever. Suddenly, Ingenious came up with an idea: "Let's play
hide and seek!"
All of them liked the idea and immediately Madness shouted: "I want to
count, I want to count!" And since nobody was crazy enough to want to seek
Madness, all the others agreed.
Madness leaned against a tree and started to count: "One, two, three..."
As Madness counted, the vices and virtues went hiding.
Tenderness hung itself on the horn of the moon...
Treason hid in a pile of garbage...
Fondness curled up between the clouds...and
Passion went to the centre of the earth....
Lie said that it would hide under a stone, but hid at the bottom of the
lake... whilst
Avarice entered a sack that he ended up breaking.
And Madness continued to count: .... "seventy nine, eighty, eighty one..."
By this time, all the vices and virtues were already hidden - except Love.
For undecided as Love is, he could not decide where to hide. And this
should not surprise us, because we all know how difficult it is to hide
Love.
Madness: "...ninety five, ninety six, ninety seven..."
Just when Madness got to one hundred.........Love jumped into a rose bush
where he hid.
And Madness turned around and shouted: "I'm coming, I'm coming!"
As Madness turned around, Laziness was the first to be found, because
Laziness had no energy to hide. Then he spotted Tenderness in the horn of
the moon, Lie at the bottom of the lake and Passion at the centre of the
earth. One by one, Madness found them all - except Love.
Madness was getting desperate, unable to find Love.
Envious of Love, Envy whispered to Madness: "You only need to find Love
and Love is hiding in the rose bush."
Madness grabbed a wooden pitch fork and stabbed wildly at the rosebush.
Madness stabbed and stabbed until a heartbreaking cry made him stop.
Love appeared from the rose bush, covering his face with his hands.
Between his fingers ran two trickles of blood from his eyes.
Madness, so anxious to find Love, had stabbed out Love's eyes with a pitch
fork. "What have I done! What have I done!" Madness shouted. "I have left
you blind! How can I repair it?"
And Love answered: "You cannot repair my eyes. But if you want to do
something for me, you can be my guide."
And so it came about that from that day on, Love is blind and is always
accompanied by Madness.
Author Unknown

THINGS TO PONDER
Falling in love.
Laughing so hard your face hurts.
A hot shower.
No lines at the supermarket
A special glance.
Getting mail
Taking a drive on a pretty road.
Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
Chocolate milkshake. (or vanilla or strawberry!)
A bubble bath.
Giggling.
A good conversation.
The beach
Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.
Laughing at yourself.
Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
Running through sprinklers.
Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
Laughing at an inside joke.
Friends.
Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
Playing with a new puppy.
Having someone play with your hair.
Sweet dreams.
Hot chocolate.
Road trips with friends.
Swinging on swings.
Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
Making chocolate chip cookies.
Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
Holding hands with someone you care about.
Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or
bad) never change.
Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a
much desired present from you.
Watching the sunrise.
Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful
day.
Knowing that somebody misses you.
Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.

You always pass failure on the way to success.  Mickey Rooney

He who reflects too much will achieve little.  Johann Friedrich Von
Schiller